NCP kidney disease due to fluoride content

The high concentration of fluoride in water in the North Central province has been found to be the reason behind kidney diseases prevalent in the area according to research studies.

Therefore, the people of the North Central province were warned by the Science and Technology Ministry against the consumption of well-water as the high content of fluoride could result in other adverse health issues as well.

“During the preliminary research conducted by the Institute of Fundamental Studies (IFS) it was discovered that the high fluoride content in the water had an impact on the high concentration of patients with kidney diseases in the North Central province,” the Ministry said.

Studies had been conducted in several areas of the North Central province from where a large number of kidney patients were reported.

Meanwhile, IFS Research Officer Neththika Withanage told the Daily Mirror that although the standard concentration of fluoride in water as stated by the World health Organization (WHO) is 1.5 mg/l, this number should ideally be around 0.8 mg/l in tropical countries.

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Notes from FAN:

• High-fluoride groundwaters are found in many parts of the developing world, and many millions of people rely on groundwater with concentrations above the WHO guideline value. Worst-affected areas are arid parts of northern China (Inner Mongolia), India, Sri Lanka, West Africa (Ghana, Ivory Coast, Senegal), North Africa (Algeria), South Africa, East African Rift (Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Ethiopia), northern Mexico and central Argentina. In the 1980s, it was estimated that around 260 million people worldwide (in 30 countries) were drinking water with more than 1 mg/l of fluoride (Smet, 1990). In India alone, endemic fluorosis is thought to affect around 1 million people (Teotia et al., 1981) and is a major problem in 17 out of the country’s 22 states, especially Rajastan, Andra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh. In Sri Lanka, fluoride problems have a strong geographical control linked to climatic conditions, with high-fluoride waters being restricted to the Dry Zone on the eastern side of the island (Dissanayake, 1991).
Reference: Water Quality Fact Sheet: Fluoride. British Geological Survey.

• See also:

Herath KRPK, Ileperuma OA, Dharmagunawardhane HA, Haller KJ. 2005. Environmentall health risk for the chronic renal failure in Sri Lanka. 31st Congress on Science and Technology of Thailand at Suranaree University of Technology, 18-20 October 2005. Available at http://www.fluoridealert.org/herath.kidney.sri.lanka.2005.pdf